Aryna Sabalenka apologized after an on-court outburst during her Friday three-set loss to Elina Svitolina at the WTA Finals in Indian Wells.
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Aryna Sabalenka apologized for an on-court outburst during her three-set loss to Elina Svitolina at the WTA Finals in Indian Wells, Calif.
Sabalenka’s match ended 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 on Friday at the season-ending championships. Video circulating on social media appeared to show Sabalenka swearing during the match.
On Saturday, Sabalenka said she was upset by the behaviour of spectators. She wrote on Instagram: “My comment was not directed at Elina. I was frustrated with a small group of spectators who were aggressively cheering my mistakes, and I reacted emotionally in the moment.”
Sabalenka added, “That said, I should have handled my frustration differently and I apologize to anyone I offended. Elina played a great match, and I wish her all the best for the rest of the tournament.”
During the match, Sabalenka was visibly annoyed and later declined to speak with media.
When asked about Sabalenka’s post, Svitolina said: “There’s many flags and many Ukrainian supporters are here and of course they want me to win in this particular match.” She added she had “seen the glimpse of it because obviously it’s in the social media,” and said she hoped the matches between the two players would be respected.
Svitolina also referenced comments connected to the war, saying: “Sometimes in some matches there are not great comments towards me in regards of the war. It is like this in the social media sometimes that things are turned around a little bit,”
Svitolina and other players from her country have refused to shake hands with players from Russia and Belarus since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, in line with a policy set by the Ukrainian Tennis Federation.
Svitolina was set to play Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva in Sunday’s final of the $10 million event.
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